UAlbany embraces underdog role vs. North Carolina

ALBANY -- No problem with the underdog role for the UAlbany women's basketball team when the Great Danes meet North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament at 2:30 today.

The 14th-seeded Great Danes expected to be such a longshot against the 13th-ranked Tar Heels.

The first-round clash today at the University of Delaware follows a 12 noon game between the No. 15-ranked host Blue Hens (30-3) and 11th-seeded West Virginia (17-13).

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Both games will be televised by ESPN2.

UAlbany coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson says the Great Danes will have to play their "best game just to have a chance," to upset the 28-6 Tar Heels.

"They're big, they're quick, they're athletic. Other than that, we match up OK," she said with a smile. "Yeah, we're big underdogs."

"That's no problem," said senior guard Ebone Henry.

"That's allows us to be more relaxed," said 6-foot-2 senior forward Keyana Williams. "I know (the Tar Heels) are good, I know they're big, I know they're ranked. And I know they're going to come in ready to play."

The Tar Heels, 28-6 overall, finished second to 5th-ranked Duke in both the regular season of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the conference tournament.

Albany tore through the America East season perfect at 16-0, won the conference tournament and their overall record of 27-3 is on of the tournament's best.

The Great Danes may have to be "perfect" today.

Abrahamson-Henderson says the Great Danes, among other things have to keep their turnover number low, and that means doing a good job handling the UNC press, which she says will be "relentless" during the first five minutes of the game.

"Then we've got to stack, set good screens for one another and whip the ball through," she said. "We've been doing drills like that all week."

To win, she says, "we got to box out, box out, box out, and handle their man-to-man pressure and keep them out of the paint. That's where they scored 90 percent of their points, off of offensive rebounds, off of drives, off of transition, everything."

The Great Danes' first player off the bench is 6-foot-8 center Megan Craig but the Tar Heels are much bigger team.

The Tar Heels' top guard, Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (14.9 points per game, 4.5 assists per game) is just 5-10 but McDaniel (12.2 ppg) plays some guard as well and the other guards - Megan Buckland is 6-0; Danielle Butts is 5-11 and Brittany Rountree is 5-10.

"They have a 6-6 center, so that's a challenge for Megan and Keyana," Abrahamson-Henderson said. "That also could slow them down because she (Rolle) doesn't get up and down the floor as fast as the others. That's why I've been saying that (Albany forwards) Julie Forster and Shereesa Richards are going to be huge keys to this game."

"They're super athletic, they run and jump and they like to play man (-to-man) pressure (defense)," Abrahamson-Henderson said. "That's what we've been working on all week, is how to handle their man-to-man pressure in the first five minutes of the game. After the first five minutes of the game, it (UNC's press) kind of winds down.

"The (early) pressure (in both halves) is big," Abrahamson-Henderson reiterated. "They're (UNC) really going to be excited in the first five minutes. They're going to man press us, they're going to run-and-jump us. But we do that, too, so we know exactly where not to throw the ball, so we just have to handle that first five minutes of pressure."

The Great Danes will have to shoot well and Forster, Craig, Richards and Williams will need to get some points from offensive rebounds.

"No, I'm used to that," she said. "I feel like I've always had (the attention of defenses) and pressure, even going back to high school.

The Great Danes are more excited for their opportunity than they are intimidated by their heavy underdog status.

"It's an opportunity, a chance to do something big," Williams said. "We're excited.

"It's a challenge," Richards said. "Nobody expects us (to win) and we can just play, do our best, see what happens."

Forster added that Albany can't get caught up in the North Carolina name, the prowess of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball.

"We can't focus on that," she said. "You can't think about the name and their tradition and all that stuff. It's not Albany's history vs. their history, it's 5-on-5. It's a basketball game and (either team) can win."

How do the Great Danes temper their excitement and handle the nervousness?

Williams spoke for the team.

"I just tell myself it's just another basketball game," she said. "They tie up their shoes the same way I tie mine. This is the game I love, so I can't let myself be overwhelmed. I have to realized this is basketball, it's what I love to do and that's what keeps me calm."